DC advocacy trip

[Guest guest]

Hi, gang!

I just got back from my trip to DC for the National Disability Policy

Seminar. Wow. It was awesome! I got great info on advocacy. One session

was presented by a well-known expert in the field. He gave 10 tips for

advocacy - basically 10 steps to follow in preparing to communicate with a

legislator by phone, email, visit, etc. If anyone is interested in that

info, I can scan and email it. We also met with legislators and

policymakers. All of my meetings were with legislative staffers. The only

important person I met in person was Judy Biggert from IL. But, let me tell

you, it was exciting to be there and see how things are done.

The ARC is in every state and is a key advocacy group for people with

disabilities. If you haven't joined the ARC in your state, consider

joining. Or find their website and at least sign up for e-alerts,

newsletters, etc. The ARC US is www.thearc.org <http://www.thearc.org/> .

They can help you know when to reach out to policy makers and on what

issues. Sometimes, there are things happening that will indirectly affect

us but that won't catch our attentions by the headlines. In IL, the ARC is

also involved in funding available for families to use for conferences (I

use it for every CHARGE conference), internet info for families, lots of

trainings, etc. So it's not just advocacy - it's information and

connections to others who can be of help.

The current budget cuts will be huge for us. We need to be active in

letting legislators in every state know how seriously our families will be

hurt by cuts to Medicaid. They've put us in a hard position. Cuts will

happen somewhere. If they don't impact people with disabilities, they will

impact other folks who are poor and in need. Ouch.

Best of all, I had a week away from home full of fun and interesting people,

learning so much (info overload), and great food! DJ took the week as

vacation to be home and play " mom " . He did a fabulous job! I came home to

a cleaner house than I left. He is awesome. I can't tell you how great it

feels to know the family can function without me - only on a temporary

basis, of course!

For those of you who know me from the CHARGE conferences, this was

refreshing. The info overload was not full of intense emotion so I managed

the entire time with no tears! Yippee!

After being gone, Aubrie is definitely " quirky " ! Part of it was that she

had a slumber party last night and was overtired this am. But she could not

stay on task. Started her Valentines, got about 4 done, moved onto

something else, checked her email, started to practice karate with her

video, that lasted about 1 minute, then wanting a movie. and having a

breakdown when her pen kept falling off the table. She finally fell asleep

and has been napping for a few hours.

Good news - the mom for the slumber party hasn't seen her for months and

thought her speech was much easier to understand! Those outsider views can

be so helpful. This was an unsolicited comment so I know it wasn't just

meant to be " nice " .

I've gone thru the emails quick as ever. I'm glad to be back!

Michele W